Naruto 1. Avenger

Hurricane

Chapter One: Avenger

The light was fading, fading fast, but Sasuke couldn't sleep. His mind was reeling, still, weeks later, taking him to places and faces he longed to never see again. He sighed. It wasn't to be. He could not forget. Not tonight, not ever. The truth was burned into his being.

Madara had turned his world upside down with his story and the more he pretended to not believe a single word the great Uchiha had told him, the more he knew that it was all true. That his life had been a lie, that Itachi's life had been a lie.

_All a big fucking lie. _

And his brother, his idiot brother, caught in the middle of it.

_Not today, little brother_.

Sasuke forced his eyes open as the tell-tale burn in his throat began and his eyes started to water. He would not cry. Would not. The time for tears was over.

_I killed him_, he reminded himself. _I did what he wanted. I need to focus. On Konoha._

The hatred burned through his veins, making him shiver although the night was warm. He wrapped the feeling around himself like a blanket, the familiarity aching and hurting in all the right places. He was an avenger. Now, at the end of all things, finally, for the right person.

And again he fell, deeper then the first time and further into blackness, the darkness welcoming him home like a lost lover. No peace. No freedom. But sleep. And in sleep he could be no-one, nothing.

*****

"Sasuke!", shouted Karin through closed doors. "We have to get going."

Her booming voice invaded his consciousness, dragging him out of nothingness and he briefly wondered how he had managed to fall asleep at all. He lifted a hand to his forehead and send a glare towards the door.

On the other side he could hear Suigetsu fighting with Karin. Sometimes, when he was feeling weary, they reminded him of old times. Of another place and other faces he longed to forget.

_Focus_, he thought as he swiftly put on his clothes. The whole time the noise outside pulling and twisting his insides.

"Shut up", he mumbled irritated as he opened the door and went past them. "Karin is right, we have to get going."

"But she's such a stupid bitch", Suigetsu moaned and jumped out of the window into the awaking sunlight.

"Look who's talking, you sponge of idiocy," Karin shouted after him, then turned to Sasuke with a frown. "You look tired. Have you slept at all?"

He nodded and wondered why she cared. HHHHHhe didn't.

She smiled at him. The way that made his skin crawl. "If you need company at night, you could always..." She blushed and Sasuke sighed. "You know...I...", she began again, but Sasuke wordlessly brushed past her and jumped out of the window.

_The hell_?

Suigetsu was right. Sometimes she really was a stupid bitch.

Outside, the grass was still wet and the sun had not yet risen over the mountains. Sasuke breathed the fresh morning air deep into his lungs and with every breath he could feel a part of the darkness, the nothingness leave him. For the day he knew who he was, who he had to be.

Jugo greeted him calmly, shooing the birds from his shoulders. Suigetsu stood beside him and a thump behind Sasuke told him that Karin had joined them as well.

*****

The hideout was dark and gloomy. Jugo hated the place. Sasuke didn't care for all it was worth. It had its advantages. They were surrounded by forest, the city was near and it was the place Madara had chosen for them. They simply had to bear with the dark clouds.

They would stay here for a few weeks, until the preparations for his attack against the hidden village of the leaf was perfected. As well as his new jutsu. Everything would develop smoothly. He could see it. Could see the fire, the burning houses, the falling trees...

At least if Karin and Suigetsu hadn't killed themselves by then.

_If they do, who cares?_

Sasuke suppressed a smile.

"Should I be concerned?"

Sasuke whirled around, his sword at the ready in no time at all.

"Try not to sneak up on me", he snarled and pushed past a chuckling Madara. "Otherwise, you'll be sorry one day."

Madara laughed. "That day will never come, you know that."

"Hn."

"When are we going to discuss this great plan of yours? I don't have time to stick around and wait all day, you know?"

Sasuke went past Suigetsu and Karin and silenced the still brawling pair with a sidelong glare. "I wasn't doing anything", Suigetsu said and shoved Karin one last time. Sasuke ignored him and turned back to Madara instead.

"I have to scout the village. I'll be doing that tomorrow morning. After that, we can discuss whatever you want to know."

"What is with that bad excuse of a team of yours? They staying?"

"Hey!" Karin and Suigetsu screamed at the same time.

"We're awesome!", Suigetsu crowed and suddenly a memory was very vivid. Just _there_. Sasuke had to shake his head so that suddenly blond hair became white again.

"They're useful. Let them be", he said and glanced at Suigetsu out of the corner of his eyes.

_No, definitively white._

Madara shrugged, "Should they be in my way..."

"They won't." Sasuke didn't know why he was standing up for his little make-shift team, but something made him. Something just out of reach.

*****

The village was already full of people. It was perfect. Sasuke blended in with the masses, unseen and undetected. It was a small town, nothing special at all. He could see at the first glance why Madara had chosen this place. It was the end of the world.

The shops were old and battered, like the people.

_Younger folk probably moves into bigger cities_.

It was the perfect place to get lost in, to be not seen in, because nobody saw much beyond the grey of their own lives.

_Every color gets lost in this place_, he observed.

It was in this exact moment that he saw her.

Before Sasuke comprehended what he was doing, his feet had rooted themselves to the spot. He couldn't believe it. It had to be a joke, a bad one. Out of all the places, in this god-forsaken village...

He took a step back into the shadow of an alley, quickly concealing his chakra. Hoping that it wasn't too late, that he hadn't been detected. But he seemed to be lucky. Out of the shadows, he watched her, still not really able to believe the sheer coincidence.

It was a shabby little bar. Only a few men sat on the worn-out sofas. The girls tending to their customers were nothing to get crazy about; Sasuke had seen far more beautiful hostess girls. But there was one his eyes lingered on.

A girl he knew all too well.

The lithe figure sat on the lap of an elderly man, laughing _that way_. The way that used to short-circuit every brain, even when they were younger. Her long blond hair was bound in two pig-tails and her blue eyes sparkled with mirth.

_That silly jutsu. Naruto._

The memories came back in a rush, tearing his insides. Naruto and him. Sparring, bickering, worrying, fighting and now he was here.

Suddenly the whole gravity of his situation hit him. The boy wouldn't be alone. Especially when he had used a henge to gather information. Sasuke let his eyes wander hectically. Nothing. Carefully he send out his chakra, trying to feel his surroundings without being felt as well. Especially with the blond so close. He was slow to catch up sometimes, but Sasuke knew that Naruto would detect him, should he feel the slightest fragment of him. But, there was no-one there. No shinobi at least.

_That can't be true_.

A little bolder Sasuke activated his Sharingan and send out his chakra again. This time towards the girl. Slowly, it wrapped itself around her, touched her being.

_It's not him_.

Sasuke sighed and leaned against the cold stone of the wall behind him.

_What am I doing?_

Standing there, ambushing an unimportant girl, suddenly, Sasuke felt ill. Since he had taken up the plan to destroy Konoha, these _flashes_ haunted him. Out of the blue, he was remembering things, saw things.

Since Itachi was dead there was nothing left. He had rescued himself into the only thing he knew. Revenge. But sometimes, when he had time to think, there was this _longing_. He hated this feeling.

Slowly he walked out of the shadow and into the grey light again. Why was he wasting time here? He had to get back.

"Nii-san?", someone said.

He turned and looked down at the blond. He couldn't believe his damned luck.

"Would you like some Sake? You look tired. Come in. I'll make you feel better." She smiled sweetly and now that he was standing right before her, he could see that she wasn't him. It was obvious. Different eyes, different skin, just different.

"Not today", he said.

"You'll feel better." She grinned widely and all of a sudden he saw how he could have mistaken her. How he could have thought she was... Maybe he should...

What was he doing? Was he seriously thinking about this?

"Not today", he said again, harsher than he would have liked. The girl flinched.

"I...I understand", she whispered.

_You don't. Hell, I don't._

"Feel free to come in any time. I'll be happy."

Sasuke turned without another word. He had to get away from here. Quickly. Before the memories came back, before _he _was back again.

Why was this happening? Over three years he had been able to focus without so much as a glimpse backwards and now the loudmouthed blond haunted him everywhere he went.

It was time to come to terms with it. Time to destroy his past, everything that had made his life torture from the very beginning of adolescence. Time to destroy everything that had twisted his brother and loaded him with such a heavy burden to bear.

But also, it was time to forget the one good thing that had come out of all this. Once and for all. He could not lose focus. He was an avenger.

4


	2. Firefly

2. Firefly

Almost three weeks ago:

"Why is it that I can never reach Sasuke?", Naruto asked into the cold air and felt the now quite familiar sense of failure surge trough him again. The blond had to fight to remain upright, to not let his emotions take him down to his knees as all his hopes were shattered again. All of a sudden, he felt so heavy.

On the battlefield, where Sasuke and Itachi undoubtedly had fought, he could still feel the remaining chakra of his rival flitter through the air. Like mist. Barely substantial. Not enough to tell him anything.

_Sasuke. Where are you?_

"Naruto", Kakashi said with so much solace in his voice, it made Naruto step away from the stone, which he had leaned on and look at his former sensei.

"I'm okay", he said, not sure if it was true.

"Akatsuki. They must have already taken Sasuke", Sai told them.

"I can't see them anymore", Hinata added quietly.

_I fucked up again._

Naruto faked a smile and nodded. "We will get them some other time", he declared, not believing a single word he was saying.

"We should head back," Yamato announced and touched Naruto's shoulder.

"Yeah, let's do that", Naruto answered, not really caring.

*****

The sky was grey when they reached Konoha, the sun so clouded the light appeared foggy. The weather did nothing for Naruto's mood. He hated when he couldn't be happy. Rare moments like this made him remember his childhood.

_Look, there's that boy._

He sighed as unwanted memories flooded his vision.

"You should rest", Kakashi said, the solace still prominent in his voice. "We're going to handle the report."

"Thanks." Naruto smiled his first real smile in hours. Some rest would do him good. He headed home in an instant.

His flat was a mess as always, but Naruto didn't notice, he never had. He shoved the litter and dirty clothing off his bed and slumped on the mattress.

The moment his head hit the pillow, he felt like crying again.

_What must I do? Sasuke?_

Memories of his days as a kid mingled with memories of the days when Sakura, Sasuke and him had become Team Seven. He had been so happy then. They all had been, hadn't they? Why had the bond to be severed?

Sometimes Naruto feared he wouldn't be able to hold on to the loose ends of that bond. So heavy was the future and every thought only led to the past.

Reaching the top of a tree, fighting, simply being together. They had been close friends and their fates deeply intertwined. What, just what, had happened?

The sudden knock on the window startled him and the white haired man outside even more. What was Kakashi doing here?

"The fifths wants to see you", the man explained.

"What for?", Naruto moaned.

"Naruto, this is important. Come on."

The blond shinobi slowly climbed off his bed and out of the window. What could be so important now? Surely Tsunade wouldn't want him to explain what had happened on the mission. He didn't want to relive all the frustration again.

The evening air hit his skin and all of a sudden his head tingled. A bad feeling crept up his spine, filling him with a sense of dread. As his eyes fell on the gigantic toad and the smaller one on his head, he just knew something was off.

"Boss Toad, Gamakichi", he greeted, unable to hide his surprise. "Something happen?"

"Yeah", Gamakichi said gravely.

"Shut your trap, Gamakichi. He's got to hear it from Tsunade", Bunta grumbled around his pipe.

Suddenly Naruto walked faster, past the two toads. He nearly ran up to Tsunade's office, Kakashi naturally adjusting to his pace.

"What happened, old hag?", Naruto shouted as soon as he barged into her office. "And what are you all doing here?"

Sakura, Sai and Shizune looked at him in a way he had missed earlier in Kakashi's face, but suddenly he saw the deep lines under his eyes and the sadness around his mouth. The same sadness he could see in every other face in the room now that he looked closely.

Tsunade pointed to the very old toad beside Naruto. He turned.

"Grandpa Frog?", he asked, not without surprise.

"You're Jiraiya's pupil? Uzumaki Naruto, I believe?"

He nodded.

"I'll just come out and say it. Jiraiya-chan died in battle."

"Huh?" All words died in Naruto's throat and the empty feeling, which had began to bloom in his chest on that deserted battleground two days ago, took over his whole being. "Who?", was all he managed to croak.

"Pain killed him."

With the force of howling winds, anger and hatred seared through his nervous system until he was unable to even stand without a trembling in his knees.

_Sasuke. Is this what revenge feels like?_

"I want you to train with me, Naruto", the old frog told him after some time. The words hardly made it through Naruto's anger filled mind. When they did, he looked at the wrinkly toad with surprise.

"I will train you in the sage arts. Jiraiya would have wanted that and you need to become stronger. You need to be able to defend yourself, to defend Konoha when the time comes."

Naruto didn't need to think. He knew that it was the right thing to do. The chance to become stronger for the village, for Jiraiya and for Sasuke was not one he could let pass by.

*****

Hours later, Naruto sat on a bench near the forest. It was his last moments in Konoha before he left for training.

_Ero-sennin._

He still wasn't able to think, to understand what had happened. First Sasuke and now he had lost his teacher, the one person who made him experience what he had always imagined it felt like to have a father.

_Gone._

Unexpectedly Iruka sat down beside him. Naruto watched him wearily. He wasn't in the mood to talk.

"He was proud of you, you know", Iruka began anyway. "He would constantly brag about you. How you were improving so fast, how he believed you would make a great Hokage."

The words filled Naruto, warming him like fire, lighting him up and burning in his throat from the inside. The warmth overrode the sadness in a rush.

"He did?" He looked at Iruka, his tears subsiding.

"Yeah", his former sensei smiled affectionately. "He was a great man and he handed his legacy to you. He believed in you."

A small smile crept over Naruto's face and with an instant the emptiness in him was cast away by hope - a tiny firefly in all the darkness. If Jiraiya had believed in him, he would live up to that belief. He would become the best Hokage Konoha had ever seen. And he would fulfill his promise to Sakura and himself - he would bring back Sasuke. Surely.

_Just watch me, Ero-sennin. I'll be a sage soon._

*****

Now:

He was in a dream, he knew he was. There was the river again. The sun glittered on the water and as he sat down beside the stream, Naruto waited with anticipation for what he knew would come.

_There. _

"Usuratonkachi", greeted a deep voice behind him.

He did not turn around, breathing in the familiar presence of the man who filled his senses. "Sasuke", he said, the name rolling from his tongue with ease.

"Hn."

Naruto smiled. He felt Sasuke sit down beside him and he looked at the figure of his rival, his friend, out of the corner of his eyes for a second. He knew that the moment he turned completely, the dream would end, so he trained his eyes on the shimmering water instead.

"I'm training with the frogs", Naruto said into the silence. "Ero-sennin died."

"I heard."

The overwhelming need to reach out came out of the blue for Naruto. Like never before, he wanted to touch, to confirm that the man beside him was really there.

_But - it isn't real._

He knew he was dreaming. It was the only dream he ever lived consciously. Maybe it was because he knew it wasn't real, that his fingers wanted to reach out so badly. But the fear to be alone again, the need to let this illusion last as long as possible, made him curl his wandering fingers into a fist.

They never talked in these dreams, merely sat beside each other and that never came close to easing the burn in Naruto's throat, to satisfy the restless need he felt in his limbs and it never even began to ease the pain that filled his core. But it gave him the strength he needed to go on.

So he sat in silence, enjoying Sasuke's company as long as it would last.

*****

Naruto awoke, feeling fresh and full of spirit. It was his second week of sage training at Myouboku Mountain and he just knew that today, he would finally be able to control his new jutsu. He felt at ease and happy in a way he hadn't since he had accompanied the old frog to this strange place.

_All these leaves. And the frogs. And the crappy training methods._

Naruto went out, sat on a leaf and began accumulating Chakra like he had every day for the past weeks, when the old frog suddenly appeared beside him.

"Grandpa", he mumbled in greeting, careful not to wrack his concentration.

"You have to go back. You are needed", the old toad said gravely. "Bunta, Gamakichi, Grandma and I will be coming with you. We got word from Tsunade: Pain has reached Konoha."

*****

They arrived sending up a cloud of dust into the blue sky. In an instant, Naruto felt that something wasn't right. He wasn't where he should be. They were in some desert or some abandoned battlefield.

"I thought we were to head to Konoha?", he asked.

"This _is_ Konohagakure", Gamakichi replied, sounding as baffled as Naruto felt.

"Pain wiped out the village", Grandpa said darkly, still looking around like he couldn't believe it either.

"What?" Naruto was sure he hadn't heard right. But as he turned and saw the hole in the ground where Konoha had once begun, he didn't know what to think anymore.

Anger flared up in him as suddenly and scorching as flames. It licked his insides, screaming for action, for an explanation.

As if tuning in on his thoughts, Pain appeared before them. Naruto roared and jumped from Gamakichi's back. Chakra blazed up in his hand and he smashed it down on Pain, all his feelings bottled up in one blow. Pain burst into pieces, his torso split open as if by an axe.

Tsunade landed beside Naruto.

"There are seven Pains", she explained out of breath and wounded. "Three are left." Naruto cast a glance at her and then stepped in front of the woman, shielding her from any harm.

"I know, I can feel them", he said. "Granny, go drink some tea or something, the Hokage shouldn't have to fight against such scum."

"Naruto." Her awed voice almost made Naruto smile. Almost.

"Tell the others not to interfere. They'll get in the way", he said, knowing and feeling they where alright, watching him.

_Sakura, I'm stronger. I can fulfill my promise. Watch._

"Don't die", was all Tsunade said before she vanished.

Then another Pain jumped up from behind a chunk of what had been a house once and with him three or four Kuchiyose animals. Naruto weighed his options.

"Kid!", Bunta yelled. "Go for Pain. We'll fight the others."

Naruto didn't answer, but lunged forward.

_Thanks, Bunta._

He accumulated Chakra and was surprised how much gathered in his core the instant he started. He changed into sage mode easier than he had managed before.

"Oho", Pain commented.

_I'll ride the momentum._

Naruto began with his knew jutsu and although he had not been able to perfect that idea in the two weeks he had trained with the frogs, a completed Shuriken Rasengan spun in his hand now.

_You son of a..._

The blond jumped up high and threw the Rasengan at the enemy. Pain managed to dodge, but Naruto had been sure he would, so his eyes filled with a wild satisfaction as two of his bunshins came out of nowhere to grasp Pain.

Naruto formed a simple Rasengan, which he knew would be enough now and smashed it into Pain. Behind him, he heard the frogs celebrate victory.

_One left._

He was already short of breath. He had to work on the duration of that sage mode. Nevertheless, the strength it gave him was enormous.

All of a sudden, Naruto felt something stab him from behind. The sharp pain brought him to his knees. He coughed blood.

_Fuck._

He couldn't move at all. The thing inside him sealed his Chakra or something. This wasn't good.

"Now you're not so strong anymore, are you?", the last Pain mocked.

This wasn't good at all.

"You are Naruto, right? I killed your master. Do you not wish to revenge him? I bet you hate me for what I did."

"Hell, yeah, I do", Naruto ground out, still angry, but feeling his strength leave him.

"I'm afraid, I will kill you first."

"No, you will not", a voice said a few feet away. Naruto turned his head at the sound. He must have heard wrong. No, he hadn't.

_Hinata._

"Get away, you idiot. You are no match for him!", Naruto yelled, suddenly panicking and trying to get up. He fell to the ground again, his head spinning.

"I know," Hinata began, smiling. "But I can and I will protect you. I have always watched you, wanting to reach you, wanting to be with you. I will protect you."

Naruto stared, then blinked. The wind, catching in her clothes, deformed her appearance.

_Sasuke?_

His hazy mind was playing tricks on him.

"I will protect you, because I love you", said the figure and he knew it was Hinata, but all he saw was Sasuke. His eyes filled with tears, grateful to her, to him.

Pain laughed, disrupting the illusion and lunged at Hinata. She took an exceptionally brutal hit and fell to the ground, barely breathing.

"Hinata!", Naruto screamed and felt the cage in him open.

He didn't know what was happening. All of a sudden he found himself in front of Kyubi's cage, his mind blank.

"Open the door and I will give you what you seek."

He saw himself, how he lifted his hand to the seal, but could not form any coherent thought. Somewhere deep inside him, he felt a nagging doubt. However, it was not strong enough to make him question what he was doing.

Then there was a hand on his.

"Don't do this."


	3. Breath

3. Breath

Burning leafs started falling from the smoldering tree the instant Sasuke stopped his motions. His legs were shaking and his head was aching. His lungs had begun to hurt half an hour ago already, making his every breath feel like being stabbed.

Now, he was out of chakra.

"Sasuke!"

The dark haired man slowly turned his head, the muscles in his neck screaming. The Pain turned into anger so fast, it surprised himself.

"What?", Sasuke hollered and sent an approaching Karin a dark glare.

"Your chakra level is too low. You have to stop", she answered with all the authority she could muster. "You'll die if you don't."

_I'm well aware._

He turned around without a word, pulled his sword out of the now naked tree and walked past Karin, very careful to not give away how hard it was to sheath Kusanagi, to simply walk. Every step hurt like hell.

_But I've made it._

It was the first time since he had started training this new jutsu that he had pulled it off perfectly. The amount of chakra he had to control was so difficult to keep at bay, it had cost a ridiculous amount of time to make it happen.

_I wonder how Naru..._

Again. There it was again. There _he_ was again. Since that day in town... No, even before then... Sasuke ground his teeth in anger.

"You look pale. You want me to make you feel better?", Karin said in a voice Sasuke would categorize as trying-to-be-seductive, directing his now cold fury towards her. He hadn't even noticed she had fallen into step beside him.

"Fuck off, Karin."

"You should get some rest. I could stay with you", she said anyway. She dealt well with his moody personality. It irritated Sasuke to no end.

"I'm not listening to your bullshit now", he said darkly.

"I just... You should be a little more careful, that's all. And I would do anything for you, you know that, right?"

"Karin." His voice had dropped dangerously low. "Shut up or I'll make you."

*****

Sasuke came out of the bathroom, his hair still wet and every muscle even more strained than before. Against his hopes, the hot water hadn't done anything to ease the ache he felt from head to toe. He sagged against the door frame, the way to his bed appearing too far to walk.

Suddenly, someone knocked and opened the door to his private bedroom.

Sasuke straightened, careful to keep his stance as natural as it was possible. He stubbornly ignored the scorching fire that spread through his nervous system. He could barely see, pain obstructing his view, but as the blurry figure's chakra touched his skin, Sasuke's alarmed mind calmed.

It was Jugo.

"You need something?", the man asked quietly.

"I'm fine", Sasuke lied.

"Your chakra is very low", Jugo observed.

"I know." Sasuke ordered himself to keep standing. He knew his mind couldn't keep him upright for very long, but he hoped he could last until Jugo left the room. He could feel every nerve flicker, every muscle spasm. "Tell Karin and Suigetsu to leave me alone for a while. I need to recover", he said, suddenly thinking about the fight ahead.

"I will. What about Konoha?"

Sometimes Sasuke thought Jugo could read his mind.

"We are heading out as soon as my chakra level is back up, so prepare for battle."

"Understood."

Jugo didn't leave. He watched him with a passive air of expectancy.

"How's Karin?", Sasuke sighed after some time, aggravated.

"Sulking. That's why she sent me."

"Tell her to cut the crap. I don't have time for this."

Jugo smiled. "Understood."

Without another word he turned and left Sasuke to himself. As soon as the door closed, Sasuke's knees began to shake violently. He wobbled towards his bed and slumped onto the linnen, falling asleep the instant his head touched the small pillow.

*****

Sasuke awoke to loud arguing outside his door, the words invading his sleep. It took a few moments until his fuzzy mind filtered meaning out of the senseless noise.

"I want to see him! He might not be alive anymore."

"You know he's alive, you fanatic! Leave him alone."

"Suigetsu is right, Karin. He'll be angry if you disturb him."

Sasuke couldn't suppress the groan that fell from his lips. Was it so difficult to just leave him alone? The noise suddenly died down and he heard the shuffling of feet.

_At least Jugo is keeping them out._

It was then, his mind registered the throbbing ache that thumped through his body. Even after sleeping, he could barely move. He groaned again, this time from the dulling pain that wouldn't end. How was he supposed to walk away from any battlefield, if the aftermath of his jutsu felt like this?

The answer was straightforward.

_I won't._

The simplicity of that truth made Sasuke smile.

_I should have died together with Itachi anyway._

Konoha was his last battle.

_Finally._

He closed his eyes and sighed, satisfied and as close to happy as he could get. Suddenly, his mind showed him that blond girl from town again. His eyelids sprang open, his heart thumping.

_What the...? Why?_

Deep inside, he had a very good idea why his thoughts constantly came back to her. He couldn't forget the bolt of lightning that had hit his gut. The jolt of surprise that had shot through him and the disbelief. Feeling like this, so alive, at the brink of death - he hated that he had liked it.

_Maybe I should have gone to see her._

Stunned at his own thoughts, Sasuke suddenly felt angry again.

"I don't get this", he mumbled to himself, covering his eyes with his forearm. For his whole life, he hadn't wasted more than a minute altogether on the thought of girls, and now? What was this new fixation?

_It's him_, his mind supplied.

No. It had to be about the girl. It had to.

An image of Naruto flared up before his hurting eyes - a memory of the day Naruto had looked up at Sasuke from the crater of Orochimaru's old compound.

It was in that moment Sasuke knew without a doubt that, no, it wasn't about the girl.

_Naruto._

It was the first time in a week, since that day in town, that he allowed himself to think the idiots name without restraint. Images flooded his mind and Sasuke let them come, let the remembrance of his one true friend choke him.

The violent longing that suddenly surged through his body, the vicious need to go see the blond man disturbed Sasuke deeply.

It felt like a knife, slicing through his gut, splitting him open and laying bare a heart that hadn't felt life in so long, it nearly had forgotten how to beat.

That sensation hurt more than sore muscles and exhaustion ever could. Sasuke felt like dying, like ripping his heart from his chest, so the burning would stop. He couldn't breathe.

_Naruto._

It was like failing to grip the edge of a cliff while falling.

In his mind, a hand grabbed his. He looked towards the face he once had known so well. The light radiating of the idiot - blue and yellow mixed to a glowing orange - shone so brightly, it blinded him.

_I had to leave._

The thought was clear and cutting, slashing through the vision without mercy and Sasuke fell back into darkness.

_Before I could see only you._

He had severed their bond, had chosen a different way, the right way. Now, there was nothing left. Nothing. No light. No hand. Just an empty space.

_I'm an avenger._

Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted iron.

He hadn't anticipated the sheer force of a suppressed memory, taken aback by its intensity. He had been caught unaware; unaware that he was still capable of feeling like this. He was just like every other lost soul he had encountered - drawn to the only light nearby, they gathered around Naruto.

But Sasuke had another purpose, another road to walk.

"Focus", he said loudly into the silence of his room. "Focus on what is important."

*****

Three days later, when the pain in his body had receded to a point he could deal with, Sasuke announced that Team Taka was leaving for Konoha.

"Finally!", Suigetsu shouted and punched the air. "I'm so ready to kick ass!"

Sasuke had to suppress a smile, because yes, he felt the same. After days and days alone with the darkness and his thoughts, he needed distraction. He needed the knowledge that he fulfilled his purpose.

"Let's head out", he said calmly and jumped into the trees.

*****

They were in a cave near the fire country's borders. It had been raining the whole night and small clouds of mist collected in the fields now the sun was rising and warming the land.

"As if you could beat me in a battle, you witch", Suigetsu's laughing voice boomed into the cave, echoing from the walls and tearing Sasuke from his sleep yet again.

_I swear, one of these days..._

"Sasuke-kun", he heard Karin chirp. "The sun is rising."

He unwrapped himself from the thin blanket and from his dreamless sleep. The cool morning air was fresh on his skin. It was a day like many others had been and yet, it was the day his revenge would come to an ultimate end. They would cross borders during late morning hours and reach Konoha in the early afternoon if they rushed. His time drew near.

At the entrance of the cave, Sasuke stilled and looked down at his team. A grinning Suigetsu, a blushing Karin and a composed Jugo returned his stare. Suddenly a thought crossed Sasuke's mind.

Maybe he had chosen them for their resemblance.

_No. _

Sasuke looked at Suigetsu for a moment.

_No. I'm not that weak._

"Let's go", he prompted, feeling enraged, and jumped off the rock.

*****

The trees sped past them, time was flying.

After a few more miles Sasuke suddenly tensed. He nearly missed the branch he had focused on, but his chakra held him in place when he landed just a bit too late. He could feel the earth rumble.

What was going on?

"What is this?", Suigetsu shouted behind him trying to keep his balance. Suddenly, hundreds of birds flew over their heads, screeching in panic.

Sasuke tried to mask his surprise as his skin began to prickle just before the remnants of a powerful jutsu brushed past them in a cloud of dust. It was apparent where it came from.

_What the hell is happening in Konoha?_

The earth stopped shaking and he trained his eyes on the horizon. Unexpectedly, he felt a presence right before them. It was hard to determine who it was.

Sasuke send out his Chakra and still couldn't make out a form or measure any potential. He knew only one person who was this good at concealing his being.

He rushed forward.

"What do you want?", Sasuke shot at the orange mask of the man waiting on an extra thick tree branch in direct view when he landed beside him.

Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo waited in safe distance. He could feel them.

"You were supposed to keep out of this. I thought I made myself clear when we discussed my plan." Sasuke was angry.

"Konoha has been destroyed", Madara said, his voice dark.

It cost Sasuke every bit of self-control he had to not just gawp.

"Pain has destroyed the village", explained Zetsu while he was still materializing out of the tree the old Uchiha stood on. "There's barely anything left."

"Perfect", Madara said.

"The village is destroyed?", Sasuke asked, just to be sure he had heard right.

"Yes", Zetsu answered.

Sasuke was sure he didn't feel anything in particular at the news, but something was off. Why couldn't he breathe properly?

_Naruto._

"My revenge", he mumbled automatically, meaning something else entirely.

"Don't worry, Sasuke. The ones responsible will have fled before Pain could act. By the way, is he already on the way to the meeting point?", Madara asked Zetsu.

"No, Naruto just started fighting him when I left."

Sasuke's head shot up.

_He's alive._

"Well, well. The boy might be useful, indeed", Madara drawled. "I would hate to dispose of Pain myself now that he's useless."

All of a sudden the earth shook so violently, Sasuke could hear Karin shriek in fear behind him. A Chakra so dark and sinister filled the entire forest that the air around them was flickering with heat.

_The Kyubi._

"This is taking an ugly turn", Madara commented the gradually darkening red hue of the sky. "It's the boy."

Sasuke charged forward without thinking. He raced from tree to tree, knowing that his team was far behind him. He was not sure know about Madara and Zetsu, though. But it didn't matter.

What did, though, he wasn't so sure either. He just knew that needed to hurry.

He was out of breath, when he stopped at a battlefield unlike any he had ever seen. There was Pain, forced up high into the air by Naruto's hand and the blond was covered in what seemed to be the demons cloak, but much more developed.

And the tails were forming at an alarming speed.

_Seven._

At Naruto's feet lay a battered Hinata.

A roar sounded through the vast crater of what had been Sasuke's home once.

Time was running out.

_Eight._

Sasuke barely registered that he was forming seals. He was doing it unconsciously, his body acting on its own. His vision sharpened with what had to be his activated Sharingan and without really knowing what he had done, he found himself surrounded by vaguely familiar walls, his feet covered by murky water.

"Open the door and I will give you what you seek", echoed a threatening voice through his head, bouncing of the walls of this unreal place.

In front of him, Sasuke could see Naruto.

Something tore at is insides and he wanted to speak.

Naruto, surrounded by simmering red Chakra, lifted his hand towards the seal on the giant cage Sasuke hadn't noticed before and his attention was diverted.

Suddenly, everything was obvious. This was Naruto's mind. And the idiot was about to lose control for good, was about to give in to the beast.

Sasuke didn't know how he had done the seals so fast or why he had felt a need to come here at all, but he did know one thing for sure: He could not let Naruto die in the Kyubi's surge for freedom.

He smiled, suddenly at ease and walked towards the one person, who had done so much for him. Standing right behind Naruto, Sasuke could smell the light he had dreamed of. It was weird. Being near the idiot made his breath come so easy.

He covered Naruto's hand with his own.

"Don't do this", he said.


End file.

Naruto, Drama, Romance